.J 01) STdlllNa FP.UITS AND SKKDS OF FOREST TREES 



111 the cas.' of (It'licatc fruits wIul-Ii when kept in heaps easily 

 b^c-oiiie over-heated, the heaps shoukl be only 4 inches hi<,'h ; 

 they are then made h)n^er and broader than before, or several of 

 them are placed side by side. It often affords sutiicient protection 

 aj^'ainst frost to cover acorns or beech-nuts with dead leaves or 

 8tra\v : in localities where the climate is mild, this is the best 

 mode of storing them, the leaves protectinor the seed from 

 extremes of heat and cold, and allowing sufficient ventilation 

 without danger of over-drying. Partially dried sand is much 

 better for mixing with seed than flax-refuse, moss, chaft', &c., 

 but sufficient sand should be mixed to keep every seed apart 

 from the rest. It is not sufficient to have alternate la3'ers of 

 sand and seed. In the case of beech-nuts, the sand should be 

 slightly moist, as the nuts are easily over-dried, which condition 

 may be recognized by their comparative light colour. 



If the heaps of seed are placed under the dense shade of a 

 spruce, or other tree, it is better in the case of beech-nuts, to 

 cover the heaps with planks rather than earth. Acorns which 

 have germinated in winter may still be sown, as the broken 

 radicle recovers ; but in such cases greater care must be taken 

 against over-drying than with ungerminated acorns. 



In order to protect the heaps against moisture and mice they 

 are surrounded by a sufficiently deep trench. 



[Hoppe rocoinmends sprinkling the heap wirli red-lend, as a protec- 

 tion against mice. When the seed is stirred the red-lead will become 

 pretty evenly mixed throughout the heap. — Ti?.j 



3. Storiiui ill Trendies. 



Acorns, Ix'ccli-nuts, chestnuts and the tVuits of ash and 

 hornbeam may l)e stored in trenches in the open air. The 

 trenches for acorns should be about half a meter (Ih feet) 

 deep, with vertical walls and in long rows ; beech-nuts are 

 placed in wider, but shallow, trenches not deeper than 30 centi- 

 meters (1 foot) ; ash, hornbeam and sycamore seed in mirrow 

 tren(dies like drills ; the latter should remain for two winters in 

 the trenches, and only be sown in the second spring. When there 

 is only a small quantity of slowly germinating seed, such as 

 nuts of the black walnut, it may be mixed with sand in earthen- 



